“I’m going with you.”
“Bast, you don’t have to?—”
I meet her gaze. “I’m going with you.” My tone leaves no room for argument.
She nods and turns to grab her things from the dresser.
“Do your parents know about me?”
There’s a guilty expression on her face when she turns around. If she only knew. I’m the one who should be looking guilty.
“No. It wasn’t that I wanted to keep you a secret. I just didn’t know exactly what we were, and if things were going to end with us, I figured…” She piles her T-shirts into the suitcase.
“Do you want them to know about me? Do you want me to stay away from your parents while we’re in town?” I really hope not. Although it would make it all easier, if she doesn’t want me to meet her parents, it would be because she’s embarrassed of me or what we have. I’m not sure I could handle that right now.
She shakes her head. “I want you there. I want your support for whatever this is about.”
“All right then. I’ll be there.” I still her hands from packing, taking them in mine. “Whatever this is, we’ll get through it—together.” I kiss her joined hands, and her body sinks into mine.
I close my eyes and relish the feeling of having her in my arms, because the fear underneath all this says it might be one of the last times if this parent thing goes very wrong.
43
BASTION
We take a ferry to Milwaukee, rent a car, and arrive at Hattie’s parents’ house shortly after dinner.
I pull the car into the driveway and kill the engine. No matter how many times I’ve tried to convince myself Carla won’t recognize me, my heartbeat still drowns out everything else. It’s been twenty-six years since she saw me last. There’s no way she’ll see the little boy inside the grown man I am now. Still… what if she does? It will ruin everything I’ve built with Hattie. If she recognizes me and I lose Hattie, it will be yet another thing Carla has taken from me.
I push all those thoughts aside, though, because Hattie is clearly nervous as hell about whatever her parents have to tell her. I need to be here to support her.
“You ready?” I open her door and hold out a hand to help her out of the car.
She nods and takes my hand.
When she’s standing outside of the car, I kiss her temple. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out, okay?”
Hattie sucks in a deep breath and nods again, but she must find some comfort in my words because her shoulders relax, if just slightly.
Hand in hand, we approach the stairs at the front of the house. There’s so much shit going on inside my head, it’s difficult to separate one thought from the other. How will I feel when I see Carla up close or hear her voice? How will Hattie’s parents feel about me being here? Will they have a problem that I’m thirteen years older than her?
Hattie knocks on the door before she opens it, leading us inside.
“Hey, I’m here,” she calls.
I use the time before anyone appears to look around the house. The living-slash-dining room combination we stand in is well-kept, though clearly outdated. Family photos are scattered on a couple of the walls, and a large cross is hung on the one in the dining room. It has a lived-in, homey feel, a family feel, a loved feel, and my heart squeezes.
Her dad comes around the corner, walking with a cane. His hair is gray and a little longer on the top, though the sides brush his ears. He has a mustache and a big smile until he sees me. He freezes briefly before continuing toward us.
“Who do we have here?” he asks Hattie.
She shakes her head and places her hand on my forearm. “This is Bastion, my boyfriend. Bast, this is my father, Robert.”
I like that word—boyfriend. For the first time in my life, I love belonging to someone. Though based on the way I feel about her, the title feels somehow trivial.
Robert blinks from being taken by surprise. I wonder if she’s ever brought a man home to meet her parents. I would have assumed that her asshole ex met her parents at some point.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” I step forward, cursing myself for the hope that he’ll think I’m good enough for his daughter. Since when do I give a fuck what people think of me?
